Method of and apparatus for tool operation on a long line



METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TOOL OPERATION ON A LONG LINE J 5. BRQWN Feb 7, 1933.

4 Sheefcs sheet p v, Z M J Z/ 1 w ||1| 06 7 5W 6 ,w 7 www h W @s W 1 I j.) 0A. T d Linn I? T HM 3 sf: .L F ion 3 n \3 m up" .3 -i! u ul Nm J. s. BROWN 1,896,766

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TOOL OPERATION ON A LONG LINE Feb. 7, 1933.

, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 28

Feb. 7, 1933. .1. s. BROWN 1,896,766

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TOOL OPERATION ON A LONG LINE Fiied Jan.- 28, 193i 4 SheetS Sheef, a

J. 8. BROWN Feb. 7, 1933.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TOOL OPERATION ON A LONG LINE Filed Jan. 28, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 J 06 into? Patented Feb; 7, .1933

YUNITEDSTATES;

JOHN s. BROWN,- DECEASED, LATE or ivri-wToiv, NEW nniursmnn, BY. onAnLns w. SPALDING, ADMINISTRATOR, or WATEETOWN; MASSACI-IUSETTQ-JASSIGNQB' To EVERETT n-KnNT, or NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS I 7 I METHOD or AND APPAEATUSFOB Toonornnarionon A LONG LI NE A' pnaa fiieaaan ar as, 1931*. Serial 511,848.).

This invention relates to iniprovementsin methods of and apparatus for tool operation on a long line. ,More particularly it provides'for themaking of long straight cuts, for example, in wood, metal and other. suitably stiff and substantial materials,"without a correspondingly long relative travel being requisitebetween the tool and the ma terial Which is being out. The apparatus of the invention is herein illustrated as it maybe employed for trimming the rough edges from a board, either one edge at a time, or the two side edges simultaneously; and also is illustrated for a similar utility in the .manufacture of metaltubing, at that stage where a metal plate is trimmed to have par-.

allel edges which, when the strip thus made is rolled into tubular shape, come uniformly together, to be*welded.'

; Hitherto, so far as he was aware, the making of a long line of tool operation, as a saw cut, in aboard or in a sheet of metal has involved themoving of either the saw or the material the full distance of the cut. The

- 4, operation has been slow and tedious, there is dangerof some deviation from a straight line as the workls fed over so long a course,

and there is always the danger of injury due to the saw becoming excessively heated, as

a result of long and continuous frictional engagement.

The present invention provides, so that long cuts through Wood or metal may be made with short travel, with great accuracy,

; asto straightness; with great saving of time to the, operator, compared with what has heretofore been required and with less dangerof damage to saw or to material.

.iOneora plurality of cuts may be made in i a single operation. Whether its 'length be great or small, the cut be accomplished in. approximately the short space of time re-,

the simultaneous cutting at two edges of a board or other striplassures 'accuracyywith regardto'parallelism'of the cut edges, and as regards the angle of cut with respect tothe plane of the under surface of the work. f I Y The above results are attained by employing a gang of sawsarranged in tandem on parallel axes which all ,eiitend in the same plane. The saw blades maybe aligned all in the samevertical plane, spaced butalittle apart at their peripheries; and allma-y rotate in thesame direction oralternate saws may run in opposite directions. A w0rksupport is mounted adjacent to the saws; and either the saws or the support will be movable in direction to bring the work and saws'intocutting engagement. Also the work and saws can n ove'relatively in longitudinal direction acrossjthe sawaxes i I v When all crests of the gang of saws have risen through thework, eachcutting a place for itself, only little longitudinalfeedis required to effect a joinder of theindividual saw cutsthereby to produce a continuous long: cut whose ektent is limited only by thenum ber of saws comprising the particular tan dem. Two ormore such tandems maybe arranfged'in parallelism witha single copperatin-g'work support, or'with'a support for each one, or for each tandem seriesv I Two or more longcuts may be made'rsimultaneously in this manner, with assurance that the cuts will extend .in exact parallelism, and willbe square cut as regards the under plane surface I.

of the board orsheet. In the caseof sheet metal, cut for being formed into'tubes, the .cut

strips can be rolled to tubeshape in any suitable way, and the edges of astrip which are brought together will always fit squarely to-T gether to permit,when necessary, a nice welded oint.

n te: an], M may b annl lto two different u es, both of whichas it happens, are for cutting with saws,

and formaking the cut in 'afstraightline but the invention is not necessarily thus limitedin its utility. t'niay be applied with tools other than saws, not necessarily cutting all of the. way through the work, and itmay be applied on a line other than straight, in cases where the feed and setting-of tools is such 100 QFEIC V %1115 left in by suitable expression in the appended claims,

whatever features of patentable novelty exist in the invention disclosed. I

In the ac mpa y g dr w ngs, which may I be 1considered to be more or less diagram matical,

Figure l is an elevationof a device especially adapted foredge-trimming boards, embodying features of theinvention; 2 Figure 2 is an'end elevation looking from 1 the right in Figure 1; V

Figure? is a detail elevation of afragment of igure 1, showing the means for elevatj ing the work support; l r a :4: e-Figure 3 is an elevation, invsection on 33 Qf igH a flFigure 4 is an elevation of a modified form which is adapted particularly for handling sheet metal; V t Figure is an end elevation looking from Fig e f. Figurelfiis'an elevation, in section on 6-6 of Figure 5. Referring to the drawings, and more par- 7 ticularly to Figures 1-3 which show the invention' applied for trimming a board to a straightedge, four uprights l0 constituting legs, an'd upper and lower crossbars 12, 14;, connecting the uprights,make a frame on which two series of circular saws 16 are nounted. All'the saws of each series arej0 l nalled on one saw rail 18, the saws on each rail being arranged in tandem, their axes be-f ing parallelin one horizontal plane. The] sawrails 18, are parallel, and each rail car-- rif es seven fsaws 16 mounted on their respe byla belt 24 wliich'is in engagement with all of the series of pulleys. 22 Power may be tive saw shafts 20. As illustrated, eachshaft 2Q carries. and drives one sawof each of the two tandems, and is. itself driven by a pulley Q22 located between. the saws, in'turn driven supplied inany suitable way, as for example through one of the end shafts 20 by. belt conmne'c'tion from a shaft 26 below, driven by belt 5 28-from any suitable source.

The saw rails 118 are movably, suspended or by links .30 to, swing from the upper bars 12.

Theends of the. rails projectinto slots 32 provided in the uprights 10, which slots con- 'stitute guides for the-rails ,to prevent side sway. Aneccentric 34, connected by its arm 36toone. of the rails, transmits a reciprocatory swinging motion tothe rails in the direction-of their length." 'The eccentric may have. onits shaft 38 a pulley 40 for belt drive,

from, the; shaft 26. V

v A work support is. indicated at 42, mounted for vertical movement in guides A on the. uprightsfll), At each end the support 42has a'rack46 depending from it; and gears 48,

48 on operating shaft are in mesh, each strip 54- hangs loosely down adjacent to the per phe yl f pul y 55 en. the en cf. at :26:

A loose Wheel 58 on one arm of a bell-crank (i0, adjacentthe pulley -56, is adapted to be moved, by depression of foot pedal 62 on the bell crank, into engagement with the strip 54 to press the latter against pulley 56. Inasmuch as'pulley 56 is continually rotating ounter-clock ise, as viewed, i Figure 1,

(clockwise as viewed in Figure-12 'engagement-of the strip 1514;,betwfeen it and wheel'58i causes a downward pull on the strip with con' sequent raising of Work support 42 to bring thework into engagement with-the saws. A

spring 64 may be provided for returning wheel 58 as soon as the foot-pedal'is'released.

Hydraulic cushioning devices'66, or other retarding. mechanism,-may be provided for easing the fall of the work support Whenthe foot pedal is released. In an'arrangement of the class of that of Figures 1-3,v where the sawsfare movably mounted, the belt for driving the saws preferablywill be trained over an idler pulley 69 which maybe weighted or spring-pressed in a manner to maintain the belt always operatively tight while permitting the described swinging or other reciprocatory movement of v the saw rails, And the idler pulleys 71 maintain belt 24 always tight.

ing mounted on bell-cranks 'mpone' of a pair being at each side, at one end of the support; and one of a pair being at each side at the other end of the su port. Cross-rods'7 5, on which the bell-cranli trio; ,8, maybe employed to rock the bellcranks through the medium'of connecting rod 80, thereby toflraise, or lower the support as they swing while simultaneously movingit' along the line of SB'TWS. I

s are pivotally mounted, connect the bell-cranks of each end pair; and

longitudinal bars 76 connect the endpairs to gether, so that all move in unison. An eccen- I 12c The WQIk W, in this-case, may secured to 7 the support in any suitable way,a's by suitably 7 arranged clamping devices, or one or more magnetic ChUClillifidGViQQSlj; For this purpose the drawings represent, more or less'diagram- 1nat1callfy,a magnetic chuck 82extendin'g substantially thefullextentof the support. This is in two sections adapted for adjustment laterally toward, an f om each, ther; ac ing as the saws are spread; The chuck is se-' cured to the work support at each end and is supported along its extent by two arms 84 pivotally mounted on cross rods 86 supported on bell-cranks 88. These latter bell-cranks are aligned with the bell-cranks 74; and are connected to the connecting bars 76 so that both sets of bell-cranks work in unison.

The upper ends of arms 84 present flat tubular surfaces 90 as rests for chuck 82, and

these surfaces have slots 92 through which extend depending bolts 94 on the chuck-sections, so that the latter may be clamped securely to the arms84, or may be readily adjusted along the table slots 92 as occasion requires Similar adjusting means are provided at the end connections of chuck to work support,

the support being slotted as at 98 to receive.

the bolts 100 which can clamp the chuck to the support when tightened.

In the form seen in Figures 4t6 a more positive drive is employed, illustrated as of chain and sprocket type, with the endless chain 104 passing over the end sprockets 106 and under and over alternate intermediate sprockets 108, to rotate alternate saws in opposite directions. A motor 110 may furnish power for the saws, through chain 112 trained around a sprocket 114 on the saw shaft at one extreme end of the tandem.

The eccentric 7 8 for operating the work support, may be driven in any suitable manner. It is illustrated as a worm gear in mesh with worm 116 on a shaft 118 whose end carries a bevel gear 120. This bevel gear 120 is in mesh with another bevel gear 122 on a shaft 124 which is mounted at right angles to shaft 118 and in the same plane. Shaft 124 has sprocket 126 secured thereon, over which a sprocket chain 128 is trained. A similar sprocket wheel 130 on the motor shaft, efiects rotation of the eccentric; and thus causes movement of the work support simultaneously with rotation of the saws.

The invention provides for executing long operations, as cuts, in wood, metal or other materials quickly, easily and safely. With either of the illustrated forms, the work comes into engagement with all the saws of a series at once, and each saw makes a short cutin the material. Either the saws, as in Figures 18, or the work, as in Figures 4-6, may be moved in longitudinal direction to extend the cutting linearly through the adjacent space between the series of cuts thus initially made. merge into one long cut; and, by multiplying the series, a plurality of parallel long cuts may be made simultaneously.

Obviously, it is not necessary that the operation of the tools-in-tandem on the work be a saw cut. The tools-in-tandem and in fixed alignment may for example be suitable for planing, milling or channelling. While if saws be used the cut may make only a As a result the short cuts of a series straight channel or straight groove. In the" case of wood, the tools maybe. molding tools. Where the tools are not to penetrate completely through the work the apparatus illustrated will be suitably modified so that after attaining the desired depth of cut the further straight travel of the tools in alignment merely maintainsthe attained depth.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1." The method. of making a long out in sheet materiahcomprising the cutting of the sheet to the full ultimate depth of the cutrat a plurality of separated aligned locations simultaneously, the alignment being that of the desired long cut; and the extending-of these cuts, by relative movement of material and cutters along the said alignment, until the said plurality ofcuts become merged into and constitutethe said longcut whereby the cut as a whole is composed of" an aligned series of separate coordinate cuts.

2. The method of cutting sheet material into strips comprising the cutting of slits therethrough, separated and in tandem, simultaneously, and the extending of the slits simultaneously until they unite to form. a singlelong slit which is composed of an aligned series of separate coordinate slits, and thus completely-sever astrip from the sheet.

. 3. Mechanism for f making a compositely continuous rectilinear cut in sheet material, approximately perpendicular to the .faceof the sheet, comprising a plane-faced work-bed for holding the sheet material; a seriesof the rectilinear out is to be made; and means for relatively moving the work-bed and the cutters, thereby guiding the cutters into the work in a direction which lies in a plane approximately perpendicular to the sheet of work on the bed, to the full ultimate depth of the cut, and also moving the cutters in the work along the line of cutters; said moving means having a stroke Whose length is less than the Whole length cut in the sheet by the cutters; and the length of stroke being such that when a cutter has progressed in the stroke along the said rectilinear line to a position at which its next adjacent tandem cutter was at the beginning of the same stroke, the whole of the said composite continuous cut in the work is completed.

4. Saw mechanism comprising a series of circular saws mounted as a composite operating unit, in tandem along a line with individual saws in the series rotating in opposite directions; a work support adjacent to the saws; and means for bringing together the work and the unit of tandem saws, with the saws entering the face of the work, and also with feed in direction along the tandem line; the said oppositely rotating saws bei'ng organized and driven for cutting taneously, whereby the endwise-displacing thrusts of one individual saw on-the wo'rk' tend to neutralize the endwise displacing thrusts of another of the individual saws, rotating oppositely.

5. Saw mechanism comprising arail; a

plurality of circular saws mounted in tandem thereon; a' swinging support for said rail; a work support adjacent; and means for 'moving the work intothe swing path of the saws.)

6. Mechanism forvmaking long straight outs, comprising a plurality of cutters arranged in horizontal tandem; a horizontal work support adjacent to the cutters having slots through which said cutters can operate;

and means for moving said support,.while it continues horizontal,- laterally toward the cutters simultaneously with relative longitudinal movement. 3

7 Mechanism for. trimming sheet material comprising a cutter support and a plurality of cutters fixedv in' position thereon with parallel axes and in tandem alignment; a work support adjacent to the line of cutters; means for clamping the sheet material on said work support; and means for moving the said supports relatively to each other in a direction'transverse of said alignment, to the full ultimate depth of the cut, andifor moving said supportsrelatively to each other in direction along'the line of cutters a distance sutficient to merge the initial 'cuts,'for completing the cutting operation. v

Signed at Boston, Massachusetts, this twenty-sixth day of November 19-30.

"CHARLES W. SPALDING,

Admz'nistmtbr of the Estate of John Brown, Deceased. 

